Work, work, ...WORRRK!

The last little while has been busy. Very busy. More like a blur really. A blur seen through the chin whiskers of the lion mask perched on my head.

Our first full run-thru with the entire company was thrilling, for all of us I think. Up to now, we've been rehearsing in separate spaces, principles in one place, ensemble in another, sometimes people spread all over the building, depending on the day. Finally, brought together, our excitement hummed in the space and our collective energy made the air crackle. I, of course, wept, as I often do when I hear all those powerful voices raised in song, invoking the heart-beat of Africa. I wept when Puleng sang Shadowland with so much anguished heart and raw passion that it's almost unbearable. I wept when Johnathan Andrew sang his first note of Endless Night, a note so small yet from someplace so deep in the soul that I stopped breathing. And then, finally, I wept after my intense death scene, out of pure physical and emotional exhaustion, and two hours of being a demonic tyrant.

The days that followed that first run-thru merged together like a snap-shot mosaic in my mind. Working a scene or a few lines, and running the show. Working again, running again. Stumbling home, soaked with sweat. Showering away the day. Stalking the streets for food and, hopefully, a few moments of peace & quiet. Surfing Chinese, Tamil or German T.V. Falling asleep. Falling asleep. Falling....blessedly...asleep.

Our final run-thru in the rehearsal space was another great day. The creative team were all very happy with the state of the show. Our director, John, gathered the principles together for what we thought would be another session of notes. Instead, he said, "I'm not going to give notes today because we spend so much time talking about what needs to be fixed or changed that you never get to hear about the stuff that's really good." He then proceeded to tell each of us what it is the we have, personally, that makes us unique and wonderful in our roles and encouraged us to allow our individual strengths to come through in our work. I'll not write here what he said to me because it was not his intent that his words be published on the internet (though if you ask me personally, I'll tell you). I will say that his words will be long remembered and replayed in my mind as a mantra on those tired days.

Last night, the company that works hard, played hard. Not only was it one of the principles' thirtieth birthday, but we also felt obligated to enjoy our last free evening as we are now moving into night rehearsals. Michael, the birthday boy, threw himself a party at the dance club in the hotel and it turned into a bit of a rave with most of the company turning up in their best glam. It's hard for us not to take over a venue when we travel as a group. There may have been a few tourists who were entertained by the antics on the dance floor and quite a few more who fled into the night, not brave enough to enter after glimpsing the high-octane revelry from the door.

Now, the tedious work begins with technical rehearsals in the theatre. Days and days of slowly adding the many tech. elements of the show. Sound, lights, fog, elevators, stage traps, quick changes for dozens of people in tight quarters, massive automated moving set pieces, and, of course, the flying. I'm not sure if I'm excited or terrified by the prospect of my death scene which requires me to fall, backwards and flailing, from a platform suspended high above the stage.